The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday said it had voiced its concerns to Tokyo after reports that Japan planned to deploy Japan Self-Defense Forces personnel on two islands off Okinawa.
“The ministry learned of the information a while back and has shared its concerns [with Tokyo] via our representative office [in Japan],” Ministry Spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政) said.
Kyodo News Agency reported that Japan was mulling a deployment of Self-Defense Forces (SDF) at Miyako or Ishigaki islands in Okinawa Prefecture in the next five to eight years in response to growing activity by the People’s Liberation Army Navy in the waters off the Miyako islands.
The report quoted Japanese Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa on Tuesday as saying that he was “positively considering” the planned deployment.
“Defending strong points in the Sakishima chain is very important. We are positively considering the plan,” Kitazawa was quoted as saying.
The Sakishimas are part of the Ryukyu islands and include the Miyako islands, the Yaeyama islands and the Diaoyutai (釣魚台) islands.
The report said that Japan was also considering plans to deploy a 100-man coastal surveillance unit on Yonaguni island, manned by the SDF.
The move prompted concern in Taipei, because the islands are close to the Dioyutais, the object of an ongoing dispute between Taipei and Tokyo.
Chen said Japan had yet to implement the planned deployment, adding that the ministry would continue to closely watch developments.
Late last month, Taipei expressed its concerns to Tokyo after Japan unilaterally extended its Air Defense Identification Zone from Yonaguni island westwards, so that it now overlaps with sections of a zone controlled by Taiwan.
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